It is known that the extracorporeal blood circuit established during certain surgical procedures substantially comprises units through which the blood is intended to flow, and the first unit that the blood encounters as it exits, by means of a cannula, from a vein of a patient is a container which can have rigid or flexible walls and is known as “venous reservoir” and “venous bag” respectively.
Such venous reservoir or bag, besides receiving blood directly from the patient, is connected to an additional container, known as cardiotomy reservoir, which is designed to receive and filter the blood collected on the operating field.
The blood is drawn from the venous bag or reservoir by means of a pump and is sent to a heat exchanger, which regulates the temperature, to an oxygenation unit for correct addition of oxygen, and finally returned to the patient via an arterial line which is provided with a suitable filter.
The units around the operating field are therefore numerous, with a presence which runs the risk of compromising or at least reducing the freedom of action of the operators, and therefore there is a tendency to reduce their bulk by integrating different units in a single device, achieving the additional advantage of reducing priming, i.e., the amount of blood for filling the circuit.